At one of the most powerful side events at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs this year, policemen called out for psychedelic drugs to be used in treatment of the trauma they suffered, while fighting the futile war on drugs. Watch the video of the whole session here!
The event was organised by Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), an organisation of law enforcement officials advocating for drug policy reform. The panelists were policemen from different countries – what connects them is that one day they joined the anti-drug police force with one goal in mind: to win the war on drugs. But they had to realise that this war is not winnable. What they experienced was drug war-related violence, corruption and racism among police ranks. So they turned against the war on drugs, risking to be excluded and shamed by their colleagues.
The final irony is that some of those illicit drugs, they were sworn to fight against, saved their lives: psychedelics. But how? To be a policeman is a risky job that has a terrible toll on the mental health of police officers. We, human beings, are wired to be social animals. Frequent exposure to aggression and violence can cause long-lasting trauma, substance use and mental health problems. Psychedelics are now increasingly used by therapists to assist talking therapy and to overcome fear-based resistance in patients.
Watch the full session here:
Speakers at the panel were:
Brendan Cox | Chair of board at LEAP, Retired police chief, USA
Fabien Bilheran | Member of LEAP, Retired detective, France
Neil Woods | Board member of LEAP, Former undercover detective, UK
Nick Glynn | Retired senior police officer in the UK, Open Society Foundations
Sarko Gergerian | National speaker at LEAP, Police lieutenant, Psychotherapist, Massachusetts, USA
